The Politics of Dining and Cooking

Dec 19, 2005

DC Restaurant Week - Jan 2006

Update: The following restaurants have confirmed with me that they're extending the Restaurant Week special another week.

Sea Catch Restaurant - through the 21stCABANAS - menu available at dcseafood.comNick's Riverside Grille - menu available at dcseafood.comTony and Joe's Seafood Place - menu available at dcseafood.comButterfield 9 - menu available at dcseafood.comSam & Harry'sThe Caucus Room Sorry, I added these two as a mistake. They are not extending.Dino - Through the 19th21P - Extending for Dinner only.

If anyone out there knows of other DC restaurants that are extending Restaurant Week, please leave a comment, and I will add it to the list. I am still getting responses from restaurants that I've emailed and I will add them as they come in as well.

DC Restaurant Week is scheduled for January 9th - 15th. As usual, lunch will be $20.06 and dinner is $30.06. I think this time, I'm not going to bother listing ALL of the participating restaurants here since you can see the complete list of restaurants at the washington.org web site.

I'm going to call or email as many of them as possible and as I get information from them I'll fill in the list below with their offerings.
Usually, I'm not done until the week before, because many restaurants
don't finalize their menus until then.

Some tips:1) Make a reservation early.

2) Make sure you confirm with the restaurant when you make the reservation that they are participating in Restaurant Week. Some restaurants only participate for lunch or dinner so double check when you make a reservation for lunch of dinner.

3) Stick with restaurant that offers their regular, full or partial menu. Lot's of restaurants will only offer a "special" menu that isn't anything they normally serve, which completely defeats the purpose of Restaurant Week. This gets you in the door, and then you order off their real menu.

4) If OpenTable shows that a restaurant is completely booked, it doesn't mean that the restaurant doesn't have any reservations left. Call the restaurant directly to double check.

1789Dinner Like in
past Restaurant Weeks, 1789 is offering a three course menu from their full menu. There will be an upcharge for the lamb and steak. Jackets are required for men. No jumpsuits or jeans for ladies.1226 36th Street, NWWashington, DC 20007(202) 965-1789

21PLunch and Dinner 21P will be offering their whole menu for Restaurant Week, as well as a special tasting menu. They also plan to extend their Restaurant Week offering to the following week.2100 P Street, NWWashington, DC(202) 223-3824

701 RestaurantLunch and Dinner 701 offers a special menu for Restaurant Week. You can find there menu in the events section of their web site.701 Pennsylvania Ave, NWWashington, DC(202) 393-0701

AcadianaLunch and DinnerAcadiana belongs to the same group of restaurants as Ceiba, DC Coast and TenPehn. They will follow suit with the rest of that groups restaurants by offering an extensive menu. Acadiana's menu can be found here.901 New York Avenue, NWWashington, DC(202) 408-8848

Ardeo/BardeoDinnerThis Restaurant Week, Ardeo and Bardeo are offering their entire menu. I need to confirm if they're doing the same this time. You can read about my trips to Bardeo back in Sept 2004.3309-3311 Connecticut Ave., NWWashington, DC 20008(202) 244-6750

BTOPBistro BisLunch and DinnerHotel GeorgeBisto Bis and it's sister restaurant Vidalia offer a very extensive menu for Restaurant Week. You can find the menus for lunch and dinner here.Their menus aren't posted on their web site yet, but when they are, they'll be here.15 E Street, NWWashington, DC 20001(202) 661-2700

CorduroyLunch and DinnerCorduroy
is always a great choice for Restaurant Week since they offer their
full menu and their food is some of the best in D.C. You
can also expect a small surcharge for some of the more expensive items
on the menu, like the Sunnyside Farms Strip Steak. You can read what I wrote about Corduroy In April. I also went to Corduroy last Restaurant Week in January, and now it's one of my favorite restaurants.1201 K Street, NWWashington, DC 20005(202) 589-0699

DTOPDC CoastLunch and DinnerDCCoast works very similar to Ceiba and Tenpehn. They all offer a very large subset of their menus. Check out their menu at DCCoast.com. If you can order the whole crispy striped bass, I'd recommend it. 1401 K Street, NWWashington, DC 20005(202) 216-5988

DinoLunch and DinnerDean emailed me Dino's menu. Here's what Dino will be offering:First course: Any dish up to $12.00. Cheese plate will be Dino's selection, not ala carte.Second course: Any dish - no upcharges or restrictionsDessert: Any dessert - no upcharges or restrictionsYou'll also have your choice of two wine pairings for $10 and $15.3435 Connecticut Avenue NWWashington, DC 20008(202) 686-2966

FTOPGTOPGalileoLunch and DinnerLast Restaurant Week, Galileo's
full menu was available and you were able to design a 3-course menu
from it. I haven't received confirmation on what they are offering this Restaurant Week. Honestly though, you should take advantage of the half-price dinner special that's going on right now. Check out the Galileo web site at www.galileodc.com.1110 21st Street, NWWashington, DC 20036(202) 293-7191

IndiqueLunch and DinnerIndique is a wonderful Indian restaurant by the Uptown theater in Clevelan Park. I've eaten there many times and I always enjoy it. They will be having their full menu available as well as a special addition. 3512-14 Connecticut Ave. N.W.Washington, DC(202) 244-6600

PTOPRTOPRed SageLunch and DinnerRed
Sage usually offers their full menu for Restaurant Week. I've only eaten at the Red Sage Cafe and not
the much nicer full restaurant downstairs. (You can read what I've written about Red Sage Cafe or check out the Red Sage web site at www.redsage.com for the latest menus.)605 14th Street, NWWashington, DC 20005(202) 638-4444

RasikaLunch and DinnerRasika is offering a special selection from their menu for Restaurant Week. Both their lunch and dinner menu contain some of the less adventurous dishes from their regular menu. Read about my recent trip to Rasika. You can see what Rasika is offering on their web site's events section. Just buy some Dramamine before you visit it.633 D Street NWWashington, DC(202) 637-1222

STOPTTOPTosca RistoranteLunch and DinnerTosca is offering their full menu with upcharges for certain items like the foie gras and veal. It can be found here. I ate at Tosca before and had a great time.1112 F Street, NWWashington, DC 20004(202) 367-1990

VidaliaLunch and DinnerVidalia usually offers their full menu for Restaurant Week. Their menus can me found at their web site.
I tried Vidialia last Restaurant Week and it was pretty damn good. 1990 M Street, NWWashington, DC 20036(202) 659-1990

ZolaLunch and DinnerZola's full menu was be available for lunch and dinner last Restaurant Week. For the latest menu, check out Zola's web site at www.zoladc.com.800 F Street, NWWashington, DC 20004(202) 654-0999

Galileo's full menu was definitely not available when I ate there during the last Rest. Week, and what was available was average at best. The soft shell crab dish was maybe "semi-soft", as it tasted like an over cooked blue crab.

I had been on the i Ricchi website a while ago (wish they'd change their recipe of the month as it's been on there for months) and noted under their events they already noted the start of restaurant week, so I made all my reservations about 2 weeks ago to get a jump start, since I waited too long the last time, and a few were already booked. My husband and I have reservations at Tosca, Galileo, Vadalia, DC Coast, Corduroy (a repeat from the last Restaurant Week because it was just TOO good), and Chef Geoff's. My question is on the two locations of Chef Geoff', are there different menus? I think we are going to the downtown one. Do you have a personal preference if you have been to both?

i just reserved a time for 1789. i heard it was a romantic spot, but do you think it's too stuffy for a pair or 23 year olds? i'm not even sure if he owns a "sports coat", haha. any recommendations from that menu?

VP of Dior: 1789 sticks all RW dinners up in the "condo" room...i believe they refer to it as the F. Scott Fitzgerald room but it is a tacky combination of cream, melon and teal (if i recall correctly) colors. the food is terrific but you will not have the full cozy experience as you get when dining regularly...plus the servers can be pompous, but, for the deal, it is definitely worth checking out. our first experience was a couple of years ago during RW and i am taking a friend who's never been this year.

One of our reservations is at Cafe 15, and I'm wondering if that's a mistake. Someone just called to confirm our reservation and asked if we were coming for Restaurant week or the regular menu. I answered and asked if that was a problem. Her reply "Not really, but I think the portions are going to be small"
She also said there would be a choice of 2 appetizers, 3 entrees and 2 desserts.

Amy, I'll be interested in hearing what it's like if you go. Even though I have an Alsatian parent, I cancelled my reservations at Cafe 15 for two reasons. First, I read somewhere that in a previous RW, entree choices were limited to one salmon and one chicken dish (reminds me of a wedding). When I called two days ago to ensure that a non-land animal eater would have something, I was told, "Yes, and our regular menu would still be available." The tone of the response made me apprehensive. I cancelled and made a late lunch reservation to try Ceiba instead. You might call Cafe 15 and ask if they know what entrees will be served on the RW menu. Good luck!

For Kim, concerning the Caucus room: My husband and I ate there last Restaurant Week this summer. We had a very enjoyable time. Stay away from the bar though if you arrive early...the drinks are overpriced. As far as dinner, the service was great and the food was delicious. They had special wine offerings for RW also. Our waiter's name was George and he made sure we were able to take our time (we generally take at least 3 hours). I'd ask for him if he is still there. It was a very nice experience. However, looking at their menu for RW on their website it doesn't look too exciting to me for this time. I thought there was more choices before.
http://www.thecaucusroom.com/caucus-room-restaurant-week2006.pdf

I just returned from a very enjoyable lunch at Zola. Eager to begin my first RW experience, the four of us arrived promptly at 11:30. Because it was RW, I expected par food and service. I could not have been more wrong.

First of all, the full menu was available. I began with the Buffalo Chicken Croquettes
with carrots, celery and Maytag blue cheese. They had the consistency of a crab cake, but the kick of a buffalo wing. For my entree, I strayed from the group, all of whom order the Crab Cakes, and order the Iron Seared Steak. Again, I highly recommend. Finally, I ended with the Lemon Chiffon Pudding with raspberries. Daniel G provided exceptional service.

Like most of you I feel the dilemma of only have seven days of dine and the pressure to pick the right restaurant. I am glad I selected Zola and I would highly encourage others to do so as well.

For those asking which restaurants have something similar to Restaurant Week BEYOND the actual week, I've read that the following downtown places have a $20 fixed price 3-course lunch all thru the year: Red Sage, Charlie Palmer, Galileo, Zengo, & Finemondo (theirs is I think $17 actually)

Anybody else know of any others ??

Dunno about dinner tho, but some places have a pre-theatre dinner menu for $35 & up...

Ate at Tosca last night. Our server was Hannah and she was very good. You were able to order off the regular menu, one or 2 items had a surcharge I believe. I had for my 1st course the Veal Cheeks sauteed in red wine sauce with polenta. It was delicious. My husband had the pan-seared Maine scallops with chanterelle mushroom sauce - so good he wouldn't even share them with me! For the main entree I had the roasted Med sea bass with spinach, pine nuts and raisins. It was okay, but just didn't blow me away. My husband had the roasted veal and spinach ravioli in a red wine reduction, he did offer me a bite and I wish I had ordered it instead. Dessert was the Meyer lemon cake and the apple and squash strudel, both excellent. We shared a french press of coffee. With a whiskey sour, glass of sauvignon blanc our total before tip came to $90. Not bad at all. My only complaint is that we didn't have any time in between courses to take a break, each course came as soon as we finished the last. Might be normal for restaurant week, but we didn't experience that the last RW. We thoroughly enjoyed the dinner and perhaps we'll go back for a meal where we can take our time.

Went to Red Sage last night...and it has definitely moved into my top 5 list of DC restaurants. Started with the Crab Cake Pairing, and the BBQ Roasted Quail. The crab was recommended but I think the quail easily beat it. Both were seasoned well however, and I'd recommend either.
For our entrees we chose the Duck and Lobster. The duck was out of this world, with the lobster seasoned really nicely and served with an interesting quacamole like mash. The duck had a slight hoisin flavor but with many different cuts of the meat, and a large serving (no bones)...truly enjoyable.
Dessert was one of the toughest choices, but we had the Caramel Toffee Pudding (which was butterscotch ice cream over molten cinnamon cake with caramel and toffee bits), and the Chocolate Obsession...which though good was almost too rich!
Overall, I just want to point out that we received some of the best service, even given we didn't order any drinks, etc. I will definitely be back many more times!

On Monday night, I ate at Mie N Yu. I had been wanting to try it for a long time, but I hadn't because no one else that I talked to seemed to have anything nice to say. People said the service was terrible and the food was mediocre. So I thought RW would be a good way to try it because the menu always looked so good to me. Well, I am really glad that I went to find out for myself. I had the most amazing experience there. It wasn't very busy and we were immediately seated. Our waitress was very friendly (I don't remember her name but she was tall and skinny with brown hair) and we did not feel rushed at all, which is rare for restaurant week.

To start, I ordered the peanut crusted shrimp, which was served over a mango and pepper salad. I absolutely loved the salad. I have no clue what they used to make it, but it seemed like a totally new taste to me. A great combination of sweet and spicy. For my entre, I ordered a crab cake that was served with a corn/tomato salad and sweet potatoes. This is where they totally won me over. Although the crab cake was not as crabby as I would have liked, the flavoring made up for it. There were mustard seeds infused into the crab cake and it was served with a horseradish sauce. The best part about my dinner was that all three components had remarkably different flavors, so every time I tasted something new, my taste buds went crazy. For desert, I ordered the mango sorbet, which was also really good. I will defiantly go back there.

Later this week, I look forward to returning to Ceiba and try Vidalia and Corduroy.

After a wonderful evening at the Ritz's Grill for RW, I would like to try more of what the city has to offer. This week I will be out of town, but I have heard that some restaurants have extended their RW for an additional week. Where would I find out if this is correct and which restaurants are participating?

After a wonderful evening at the Ritz's Grill for RW, I would like to try more of what the city has to offer. This week I will be out of town, but I have heard that some restaurants have extended their RW for an additional week. Where would I find out if this is correct and which restaurants are participating?

I went to Corduroy Monday night, and I have to say, I really wasn't that impressed with the food. Based on high recommendation of the lamb sirloin, I ordered that and was totally disappointed. It was bland and very fatty. I was also disappointed with dessert. I ordered the pistachio bread pudding, again based on recommendation. It was ok, but not spectacular. Maybe based on all the rave reviews, my expectations were too high?

However, my dinner date had the squash soup, which was very tasty. And the scallops entree looked good.

I have reservations for 4 tonight at Corduroy at 6:30 (yes, I know: early time, late notice). Unfortunately, I can't use them now. My wife and I do have a babysitter for tomorrow night... but no reservations. (And there's not a whole lot left on OpenTable. I've also called a handful of places.)

Let me know if you'd like to trade and save me from wasting a babysitter AND missing out on Restaurant Week!

This is a warning for anyone thinking about visiting Butterfield 9 for RW, especially since they are extending their RW menu through next week. I ate there last night and was very disappointed. I knew going in that it has gotten mixed reviews, but I had a good meal there a few years ago so I thought it was worth a shot.

The service was at best mediocre. I asked the waiter for a recommendation of an entree off the RW menu and he couldn't give me one. My friend and I were also both given the wrong desserts. To our waiter's credit, he noticed once he came over to our table. By then though, we just decided to keep what we were served.

I ended up having the scallops, risotto and creme brulee. The scallops were served over a potato foam with cauliflower that was not only needlessly fussy, but also incredibly bitter. The scallops themselves were well short of stellar. The risotto was actually quite tasty, but the portion size was beyond small. The whole plate was probably five good-sized spoonfuls. The creme brulee was good, but unremarkable.

You might be better off with some of the other choices on the RW menu. The butternut squash soup and the salad both looked good. As did the blue marlin. Overall though, if you can find another place to try for RW, I would.

I posted this at chowhound, but in case some of you don't visit that site:

I've done RW several times now & the choices I was offered yesterday at District Chophouse & Brewery were the most limited I've ever had.

The website didn't list the RW menu - I took it for granted it would be choices from all the entrees at the very least. I know I should have called, but I got busy at work. I didn't reserve as I usually sit at the bar of a RW restaurant after 1:45. Service was OK, tho a bit slow even tho the bar area was pretty empty at that time.

The menu on the website I thought had said all full entrees (not sandwiches) come with chopped salad, but that was not the case yesterday (the menu at the table did not mention that). However, I did get served a sizeable pan of cornbread.

The calamari (drizzled with a wasabi cream) was the best thing about the lunch. The tenderloin & potatoes were OK (normal price $12), as was the pie.

But I've had better taste experiences and much more choice at many other RW restaurants.

However, Chophouse has a good selection of in-house brews (tho I didn't partake, to keep my lunch costs down). At happy hour, 2 different brews a day are discounted (at the bar only, not in the restaurant).

I usually go to Tosca, Corduroy, and another for RW. This time Rasika was the other. I believe it a worthy choice if you want to try the place. Decor is modern, not to my taste, but they do have an exhibition grill that you can sit at. Service is very attentive.

We had the seekh kebob and sev puri, both very good. The sev puri is served Bombay Club style, a chip with toppings, rather than a melange. I thought it was a little on the bland side (so is BC's), but still fine. For entree, the clear winner is definitely the makhani. I make this dish often at home, it is not that difficult, this one was boldly flavored, more so than most, definitely a winner. We both should have ordered it. The lamb dahiwala was fine, but like the sev puri, somewhat bland. Lamb chunks were very tender, though. The lamb dish came with a roti and naan (or maybe all entrees do), highly recommend the roti, perfectly cooked, and layered, never had one like that before. Get it as a side if necessary. For dessert, the fried apple, very good, everyone was getting it. I would normally opt for the gulab, but was not in the mood for a sugar rush.

The place was packed. Many interesting choices on the regular menu. I will certainly be back.

Follow up on Butterfield 9 comments: My husband and I ate there Monday night and had mixed feelings. The portions were embarassing, it was more like a tasting rather than a meal! Is this typical of restaurant week? The scallop appetizer was very good in my opinion, no bitterness. My steak au poivre was very good (but no pepper...strange). My husband's salmon was just "ok". His mexican chocolate dessert was outstanding and my creme brulee was substandard. The service was very good, however our waiter seemed to look down his nose at us when we stated we would be ordering from the RW menu. Only when I ordered the wine pairing and coffee after dinner, did he seem to perk up. Being new to the area, this was slightly disappointing. I guess the wait staff in some of these restaurants don't realize that we WILL go back if they give us a good experience. Hope we have better luck with our next reservation.

I had my first restaurant week experience ever this past Tuesday with dinner at Galileo, and I was VERY disappointed. The service was fine, but the food left me unimpressed. I don't know if Galileo likes to serve it's food lukewarm, but the first comment everyone at my table had about the first two courses was, "Hmm this is not very warm. Actually it's almost room temperature." Very strange.

My first course was ravioli stuffed w/ butternut squash and ricotta. Tasted good, but again, not warm! Second course was a ridiculously small portion of sea bass over risotto, which left a bad after taste. Third course was an uninspired glorified puff pastry with a dollop of ice cream and apple shavings. Overall I would give the meal a "C". I know it's not fair to compare Galileo to culinary delights in Italy, but I had much tastier meals in Florence and Rome for cheaper. I can't imagine paying full price for the entrees we got. Even the News Cafe Restaurant in Georgetown has better Italian in my opinion. (And they have the little known 3 course dinner special on Sundays).

I still have my reservation for 1789 Friday and Corduroy Saturday, so hopefully these fair better.